


Carolina Reaper

by Princess_Sarcastia



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes - Freeform, Canon Divergence - Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Extremis Pepper Potts, F.R.I.D.A.Y. is doing her absolute best, F/M, Honorable mentions: - Freeform, James "Rhodey" Rhodes - Freeform, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Pepper Potts as Rescue, Pepper's suit(s—shh don't tell pepper) are saved under 'Carolina reaper protocol' in Tony's files, Rescue Armor, Stream of Consciousness, T'challa - Freeform, Tony's lifestyle is stressful at the best of times, but also she's like a year old so, it's not really a fix-it, it's not really an option, just...more pepper, look - Freeform, scenes but mostly just regular ones, see a Carolina reaper is like the hottest pepper in existence, steve rogers - Freeform, there are a few, to keep this loser alive, when you're a living bomb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 17:38:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19233928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_Sarcastia/pseuds/Princess_Sarcastia
Summary: Tony and Pepper's relationship is something they built together.  Something strong, founded on trust and commitment.  So just because Pepper needs space to get used to being a bomb doesn't mean they don't love each other anymore, doesn't mean they don't call each other just to say hello;doesn't mean she won't be there in a heartbeat when Tony needs her....The second Rhodey hits the ground, Pepper gets on a plane.





	Carolina Reaper

**Author's Note:**

> This is titled fix-it pepperony in my fic folder. Previously posted on my tumblr. Bonus points if you catch the HTTYD head nod!

Tony pulls out his phone and sighs. Of course he’d been expecting the call, but with the way everything was going right now… it was taking all he had to not just jump into the suit and fly straight to her.

He figures they should get something straight right off the bat. “It totally wasn’t my fault, I swear. This whole snafu can be laid directly on Capcicle’s doorstep– well, his and his boyfriend’s.”

“I know, Tony.” She says wryly.

Tony shifts in his chair. “Yeah, yeah, of course you knew. There was no way this was my fault.”

Her voice turns disbelieving. “They’re not really dating, are they? I always thought he and Agent Carter–”

“Hey, you know some of the stuff my Dad got up to back then, maybe those three had something worked out.”

“Tony!” She says, outraged, but with that laughing undertone that meant he was in the clear. Fun Fact: Pepper’s sense of humor was almost as dirty as his. Almost.

There’s a long, awkward pause. There’s been a lot of those, lately, hence the. You know. Taking a break bit. It’s not the end, he knows. They’d made that clear when she left. It isn’t even the main reason she left. But god, does he miss her every second she’s gone.

“Are you alright?” She asks hesitantly, like she’d afraid of the answer. Or afraid that he won’t give her one.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Royally pissed off, but fine. You?”

Pepper ignores the question. “Why, what’s wrong?”

Tony sighs. “Nothing, its just– sometimes I wish Rogers would wake up and smell the roses. He thinks that this, this whole accords thing is something he can wave his magic patriotic stick at, maybe spout something about freedom and the American way, and just make the whole thing disappear.”

“Is he really kicking up that much of a fuss? I thought you’d been talking with the UN about this, that that was the whole reason they even considered the Accords in the first place.”

He snorts. “Yeah, well, it turns out Captain Righteousness doesn’t believe in compromise; it’s his way or the highway. He’s probably out there now trying to spirit Barnes away before the big bad government can bring him in for questioning.”

“Well,” Pepper says, her soft smile audible (he can picture the exact face she’s making, when her voice sounds like that. God, when did he become such a sap), “I’m sure you’ll find a way to fix it. You always do.”

“Ha, right.”

Something beeps to his left, and he waves his hand. Holy shit, whada ya know. Rogers got arrested. And Barnes. And his little duckling. And… the king of Wakanda? Really? Jesus, Steve attracted trouble like… well, like he did. “Listen, we just found Barnes. Can I…” and he hesitates, suddenly feeling every mile between them, literal and metaphorical.

Tony clears his throat. “So, I’ll call you later?” Better. Making statements was always better than asking questions. Asking questions was like sitting there with your hand out waiting for someone to hand you something.

“Yes,” she says. “Please.” _I miss you,_ he wants to say, but he shouldn’t push her, shouldn’t–

“I miss you, Tony. So much.” She says, and god she’s just the perfect woman, isn’t she? Taking the words right out of his mouth.

“I miss you too, Pep.” He pauses for a beat, then smirks. “Will that be all, Miss Potts?”

She laughs, and he can picture that too: her head thrown back, eyes crinkling, all throat and teeth. “That will be all, Mr. Stark.” Then she hangs up.

They never really say I love you; it’s too much like goodbye. And neither of them were ever any good at those. Case in point: New York.

Tony stared blankly at the screens in front of him, feeding him live stream to the cell they were preparing for Barnes and the trucks transporting the four musketeers back to base. His eyes focus in on Rogers for a minute, and he shakes his head.

It was no wonder his dad never shut up about the guy: they were both ginormous assholes.

* * *

 

Tony gingerly sits down in a chair, feeling every single hit he’d taken today. Jesus H Christ, this day couldn’t get any worse. Wait, no, of course it could. Lesson one of being Tony Stark: there is no rock bottom. You just keep sinking and sinking and sinking until you aren’t sure which direction is up anymore.

God, this is all his fault. He should have pushed for more autonomy in the accords, maybe then the rest of them would have signed. Or built a better cell for Barnes, so he didn’t escape. He should have flown faster when Rhodey was…was…

He could have done better. He _should_ have done better.

“This is not your fault, Tony.”

Tony’s head jerked up, and dear god he has never been happier to see someone in his life. Well, that time Rhodey showed up in the middle of the desert probably tops this. Second best. But there was that time in… okay, so, top ten?

Whatever. He’s happy to see her. That’s all.

“Pep, hon, what are you–”

“This isn’t. your. Fault.” Pepper sits down next to him and puts a hand on his shoulder, then pulls him into a hug. He puts his arms around her and buries his face in her neck.

“I know that look,” she murmurs. “So I want you to repeat after me: This isn’t my fault.”

“I know it isn’t your fault, Pepper.”

She pulls back and gives him a Look. He holds her gaze for a moment, but then his falls to the floor. “It isn’t my fault.”

“What happened to Rhodey wasn’t anybody’s fault. Nobody meant for that to happen, I can’t believe that.” Her gaze turned darker. “As for the rest of this shit-show, well. I may be biased but it seems like ‘Captain Righteousness’ had more than his fair share to do with that.”

Tony aimed for a smile, but it was a little too watery to pass inspection. “Well, if we’re being fair, General Ross probably didn’t help.”

She smiled at him for a moment, but then it fell. Time for the serious talk, then. “What are the doctors saying about Rhodey?”

Tony shifted in his seat, leaning on his knees and staring at the floor. “He,” Tony cleared his throat. “He hasn’t woken up yet. But the Doc says if–once he does, they’ll have a better handle on things. They need to evaluate his coordination, reaction times, mobility.”

Pepper rubbed his back soothingly. “Hey, that’s good, right?” Tony nodded, still staring at the floor. “Are they letting in anyone to see him?”

“Not yet. Another hour, maybe.” He paused for a moment, then turned to look at her. “Pepper, what are you doing here?” Are you going to stay, is what he means, but he’s not going to say that. It’s okay, though, because Pepper’s always been fluent in Tony.

She gave him a wry smile. “Not that you’re not happy to see me, right?” He snorted. It was her turn to look at her feet. “I just…you know why I left.” Of course he does, but he has a feeling she wants to editorialize a bit. “It was too much, being in New York. I needed space, especially if I’m trying to get a handle on,” She gestures to herself, “All of this. Just because I’m not going to blow up doesn’t mean I’m not still dangerous.”

“But?” He prompts her.

“But, my control is as good as it’s going to get on my own. And I’m not going to learn how to live with all of this,” She gestures to him, “by sitting in Malibu by myself.”

“You just gestured to all of me,” Tony quips, and she smacks his arm playfully. “Hey, did you work out how to breathe fire yet? Rhodey said Killian could breathe fire.”

She gave him an exasperated glare, but there was a smirk playing at her lips.

“Oh, you did!” He crows. “This is amazing. My girlfriend can breathe fire!” She laughs at him, but he can tell she’s just as giddy about this as he is.

“Hey, how’s that fire-proof boardroom line working out for you?” He asks.

“Surprisingly fire proof. Much less expensive than burning through my normal clothes every time one of the board members pissed me off.”

“So, about every five minutes. I vaguely remember what they were like.”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes, just about. But I haven’t burned through a single one of the outfits you made me, much to the board’s disappointment.”

Tony shudders. “Ugh. Don’t even– why would you put that picture in my head, Potts?”

“Whatever do you mean, Mr. Stark? I was just saying they’d use any ammunition they could get their hands on to file an injunction against me.” Pepper gave him a prim magnanimous look, but he knew she was totally laughing at him on the inside.

“Mr. Stark?” A voice sounded from over his shoulder and he turned to see Doctor Whats-his-face standing there. Whatever, his name didn’t matter; he was the best: that was what mattered.

“Colonel Rhodes can receive visitors now.” The doctor informed them.

Tony let out a slow breath, then stood up, offering a hand to Pepper, who asked, “Is he awake yet?”

“No, but it should be any minute now. While the damage to his spinal cord was substantial, we haven’t found anything that would indicate brain damage, short or long term. It looks like the initial blast was closer to the base of his spine, and while the fall worsened his condition exponentially, your helmet was able to protect his cranium from any significant impairment it would have received from the fall.”

Tony nodded shortly, and the doctor took that as the dismissal it was and turned away. He and Pepper made their way to Rhodey’s room.

He looked like he was sleeping. Just lying there. Looked about five years younger, too. Between the air force and, well, Tony, he had more than his fair share of grey hairs. But now, he was…peaceful.

Wasn’t really a good look for him, in Tony’s opinion. Much better with all those laugh lines crinkling around his eyes.

Pepper dragged her chair from the wall up alongside Rhodey, and Tony sat in the chair opposite her.

“When do you leave? You must have meetings or something, while you’re in town.”

Pepper gave him that look that meant he was being an idiot and should just say what he meant to. “My assistant is pushing all of my meetings back a week or so. I may have some calls, later, but I’m staying right here, Tony.”

He nodded, and then leaned back in his chair. And the only noises were the steady beeps of Rhodey’s monitors and all of them breathing, together.

* * *

 

“You’re not coming with me, that’s final!” As soon as the words came out of his mouth he winced slightly. Okay, bad call, let’s maybe not piss off your Extremis carrying girlfriend.

“Oh, that’s final, is it? Well then, I guess I’ll just head home, since you’re making all the decisions now. Maybe I should sign the company back over to you while I’m at it!”

Tony rubbed his eyes. “Pep, that’s not what I meant. I just can’t take you with me! You know I can’t.”

Pepper crossed her arms. “I’m not letting you go there alone, Tony. It’s General Ross; can you honestly tell me you trust him? Especially after everything he’s done so far?”

He sighed. “No, of course not. He’s been chasing after Bruce for years, I’m sure this is exactly what he wanted.” Tony paused for a moment. “Look, Pep, there’s a reason they didn’t call you in with the rest of us to discuss the Accords. Ross and the UN still have no idea about Extremis. If you come with me–” He cuts himself off, looks away.

“They wouldn’t let you onboard the RAFT anyway. Not without making you sign. And that’s assuming they don’t arrest us both on the spot for lying about you to their faces.”

She ran a hand over her face. “Well then take Vision with you. They can’t object to that, can they?”

He scoffed. “Vision isn’t all that great about the whole lying thing yet. And besides, if I show up with him the others’ll call foul and clam up.”

“Why are you so determined to do this alone? Not everything is your responsibility, Tony! God, this is exactly why–” Pepper bit off the rest of her sentence and took a deep breath. Tony glanced down at her hands, now glowing faintly. He waited a moment for it to fade, then took her hands in his.

“Exactly why we decided to take a break, right?” She gave him a weary look. “No, I know. It’s my stupid hero complex, hundred percent.”

“Guilt complex, maybe,” she said, stepping towards him. “Alright, fine. Going with you to the RAFT is out, but what about after? When you find out where Steve went?”

Tony sighed, then leaned forward until his forehead was resting on her shoulder. “You do that, you’re gonna have to wear the suit I made you. It’s the only thing fast enough to keep up.”

She made a noise of protest and he shifted until his face was pushing against her neck. “C’mon, honey, work with me here. Compromise, remember?”

It was her turn to sigh. “Compromise,” she agreed. “Wait a second– you mean you have the suit with you? I thought it was still in New York?”

He froze. “Oh, uh– well. That’s… not wrong. The Rescue armor is in New York.”

Her hands pushed at his shoulders until he moved away. “You mean you made me more than one? After I specifically said I didn’t–”

“Hey, look, good I did, right? And besides, it’s just the suitcase, the other ones are still…” He trailed off. Shit, hadn’t meant for that bit slip out.

She gave him a deadpan look. “Others. Look, no, no listen,” she said over his protests, “you have to go to the RAFT now if you want to catch up to them. But we will definitely be discussing this later, understand?”

Tony nodded. “Square deal. Sorry. So, I’ll– call you when one of them coughs up Rogers.”

“You’d better, Tony, or I swear to god–“

He leans in and kisses her for a long moment, trying to press all of his feelings into it. Regret; worry; love. “Don’t sweat it, Pepper. I know better than to push my luck.”

“Mmm, I must’ve imagined the last ten years or so, then.”

“Yeah, must’ve.”

* * *

 

Just the suitcase, her ass. This suit was nothing like the one he’d brought with him to Monte Carlo.

“Boss just sent the coordinates, ma’am, and it looks like you were right.”

Pepper sighs. “Wonderful. If only Tony or Steve had stopped to talk to one another beforehand.” She shifts her weight and the suit cuts through the air, turning to line up with the flight path FRIDAY has laid out for her on her screen.

The material making it up was like nothing Pepper had ever seen. Some kind of metal, for sure, but so much lighter than Tony’s. She could carry it on her own without the hydraulics and barely break a sweat. Or would have been able to, if not for the flight suit.

Completely black, made of another material she can’t identify. It almost seems like the Kevlar-knockoff R&D has been working on for months now. “Just out of prototype phase, ma’am,” FRIDAY tells her when she asks. “You’re the first person to combat test it.”

When she has FRIDAY run systems checks, there are almost no weapons; the only thing she has besides the repulsors are lasers, and the ridiculously small shoulder mounts Tony used to use to blow up his stolen tech. Which, she thinks, probably accounts for the weight. And the way the hands and forearms of the suit fold back neatly, leaving her hands free to burn; the only weapon she’ll every need, for the rest of her life.

“Boss just reached the compound. It looks like the Captain and Barnes are already there.”

Pepper hummed in acknowledgement. “What’s my ETA?”

“About twenty minutes.”

Flying’s the weirdest sensation Pepper’s ever felt. Sometimes the hum of the reactor and the repulsors fades into the background until her mind tricks her into thinking she’s in a car, on a plane; and then she glances down again.

The first time he persuaded her to try a suit had been terrifying. Knowing she would be safe and feeling safe were two different things. But after all this time, after agreeing to the Rescue armor and testing the prototypes he built for her–Pepper understands why Tony doesn’t want to give up being Iron Man. Being up here in the clouds, being able to fly, is…beautiful.

“Ma’am,” FRIDAY says, and Pepper can hear an edge of unease in her modulated voice.

“What’s happened?” Pepper asks, feeling something like dread start to pool in her stomach.

“They just found Zemo.”

“Has he woken up the other soldiers yet?” Were we too late?

“No. He’s killed them all.” Pepper used to marvel at the emotion in JARVIS’s voice, but he never once sounded as young as FRIDAY does right now.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” she feels her mind start to flit through possibilities. What else could he have wanted, if not the super soldiers? “Patch me through to Tony, I want to know what’s going on.”

“Boss’s got his helmet off, so all I’ve got is audio.”

A voice with a Slavic accent filters through her helmet. This must be Colonel Zemo. “—blew it to hell. No, I’m here because I made a promise.”

“You lost someone.”

“I lost everyone. And so will you.” Silence, and Pepper feels something like panic rise in her throat. What’s going on? “An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again, but one which crumbles from within? That’s dead…forever.”

Another stretch of silence, then: “I know that road. What is this?” Tony.

“Tony,” Pepper says urgently, “What’s going on? What road?”

FRIDAY answers her instead. “I think he’s playing some kind of video. The whole base is on a closed circuit, I can’t get ahold of it.”

“Is there any audio?”

“No. But there was a date: December 16th, 1991.”

Everything slides sideways. “Why do I know that…date.” That’s when Tony’s parents died. Why would there be...unless—she vaguely hears Steve’s voice come through again, but none of it registers until—

“Boss has engaged Sergeant Barnes and Captain Rogers!”

—unless it hadn’t been a car accident. Unless HYDRA had…

“FRIDAY, how long?” Pepper says urgently. “Six minutes, ma’am. Boss is—” she cuts out for a moment, “taking some serious punishment. He keeps going after Barnes, but Captain Rogers is interfering.”

“Tony!” She says.

“I don’t think he can hear you,” FRIDAY says.

“Divert all power to the thrusters.”

* * *

 

He feels Barnes dig his fingers into the arc reactor and something snaps

_You remember this one, right? There are so many applications for short-term paralysis._

_One last golden egg to give_

and then Barnes is lying on the ground across the room. Tony can barely hear anything over the roaring in his ears. Steve is in front of him with the shield again, landing hit after hit after hit until his head starts to vibrate. He thinks Pepper might be—but his mom—his mom—Barnes had—

“You can’t beat him hand to hand!” FRIDAY cuts through the noise in his head. “Back-up will be there in a minute, just—”

“Analyze his fight pattern,” he says.

“Scanning.” His head jerks back but he barely feels it. “Countermeasures ready.”

Barnes killed his mom, and Steve— “Let’s kick his ass.” He catches the shield, beats him back across the room. Use the repulsors to put more force behind his hits; go for his legs.

He tosses Steve into the corner but— “I can do this all day.”

“Thirty seconds!” FRIDAY says. Thirty seconds to—Barnes has his leg—he killed my mom—

Steve picks him up and throws his across the room.  Turnabout. He climbs on top of Tony and suddenly all he can see is Obi, pulling his heart out of his chest.

_Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she—_

* * *

 

Pepper dives towards the opening FRIDAY is directing her to, barely registering two figures standing on top of the compound. She can hear metal ringing as she comes up on the fight.

As she speeds towards them she catches sight of Steve, straddling Tony with his shield raised above his head.

“Tony!” she screams, and heat rushes through her. Her vision goes red. Without slowing down, she brings her arm in front of and flicks her wrist, pulling back the armor. Extremis is coming to life beneath her skin, so strongly it’s hard to think for a moment.

The impact jars her head, but she doesn’t care. Steve goes flying into the concrete wall behind him, landing heavily next to Sergeant Barnes.

“Ma’am, your internal body temperature is reaching critical levels,” FRIDAY says urgently. “I have to remove the suit or you’ll start to melt the wiring.”

“Do whatever you have to,” Pepper says harshly, and tries to calm her breathing but she can’t. FRIDAY peels the armor off of her, leaving her standing there, glowing. Her hand is still punched through Captain Roger’s shield. Molten metal slowly runs down the side of it, marring the red and blue stripes.

The now-ruined weapon clangs against the ground as she turns back to Tony. He’s lying on the ground, shaking, his eyes wide.

He doesn’t say a word when she drops down next to him, close enough that the heat rolling off of her is scalding. Pepper wants to reach out to him, but she feels like fire and knows if she does he’ll burn with her. So she breathes, slowly; watches Tony start to match her rhythm. His trembling starts to fade bit by bit until their chests rise and fall in sync.

They learned these exercises together after Miami.

Pepper hears movement behind her and calls, “FRIDAY,” glancing back for a moment to see her suit re-form and move in between the two pairs, planting a foot on the half-melted shield.

When the air around her feels biting like a Russian winter should, she goes up on her heels into a crouch and reaches a hand out to Tony. After a moment he takes it, and she pulls him up with her.

“Back-up is here, Boss,” FRIDAY calls from her suit.

Tony smiles fleetingly. “No fire-breathing, huh?” His voice is rough with grief and anger, and she can tell he’s just going through the motions.

“I wanted my first time to be special,” she says, setting up an easy one for him, but he doesn’t take it. Instead, his eyes are drawn to the super soldiers sitting under FRIDAY’s watchful shoulder rockets.

He flexes his fingers, still with a devastated look in his eyes. She reaches out and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Tony…” Pepper trails off. There really isn’t—what can she even say?

“Are you going to stop me?” He asks quietly.

Pepper looks into his eyes for a long moment.

“No,” she says finally.

He jerks his head towards her, and she hears his breath catch. “I don’t think I would have to, anyway,” she adds, and watches his shoulders slump.

Captain Rogers slowly sits up behind them and Tony twitches, his eyes widening. Pepper feels heat bloom somewhere in her chest and takes a deep breath to dissipate it. Barnes is still lying on the floor, clutching the remains of his arm.

“Where’s Zemo?”

“He’s right above us, ma’am,” FRIDAY says. “King T’Challa is up there with him.”

Pepper stares down the Captain. “Are we done here?” she asks lowly.

He lifts his chin up. “I’m not letting you put him in a prison.”

“Prison was never on the table until you decided to blow off one hundred and seventeen countries like they were nothing.” He opens his mouth and she cuts him off. “No, I signed off on the requisition form for BARF personally, like I do for all proprietary Stark Industries patents. There were resources to help him! After the cluster-fuck that was Clint’s brain after New York, did you really think there wouldn’t be clauses for mind control in the Accords?”

He looks surprised, briefly, and she throws her hands up. “Did you even read all the way through them before deciding to shit all over thirteen months’ worth of diplomatic negotiations?”

Her voice is getting louder and louder, and her hands are warming up again, but Tony doesn’t let go; just squeezes her hand tighter. “Pep,” he says quietly, and she turns to look at him.

Looks into his eyes, and…fine. Okay. She sighs and reaches out slowly, running a hand over his face. I got you, she doesn’t say, and this time the smile doesn’t touch his mouth, but his eyes. He nods to the suit; got you first.

FRIDAY pipes up. “King T’Challa is still on the roof, along with the fugitive Zemo.”

Tony throws an arm over her shoulders, and the dents in the suit are digging into her, but she leans into it anyway. “Let’s go see if Panthro wants to make a trade. I’m gonna need an excuse for violating Russian airspace.”

“Do your repulsors still work?” She asks, not willing to leave the super soldiers down here alone.

“Yeah; don’t worry, I’ll give you a lift up there.” Something passes over Ste—Roger’s face when he hears that. Regret, maybe. Pain. Pepper doesn’t care enough to think about it.

Instead, she reaches down and picks up the shield, and moves to cling to Tony’s back.

“One of the boots is fried, though, so I might need you to give me a ride back to the counterterrorism center.”

 

* * *

 

King T’Challa is poised and poignant. Tony is a fucking mess, but he has it together enough to talk his way into this one. Zemo is unconscious on the ground with a ruined handgun next to him. There’s a story there, but Tony really doesn’t want to hear it right now.

“I’ll escort Zemo back to Germany if you’ll take Rogers and Barnes. I’m thinking you’re more equipped to contain them at the moment, your highness.”

Pepper crosses her arms against the chill. “What about the dead super soldiers? We can’t just leave them here, and if Ross gets his hand on them—"

“Yeah, party like it’s 2008 at Culver University.”

T’Challa regards Pepper for a moment, and Tony realizes what’s about to happen.

“Miss Potts, I do not remember your name on the list on enhanced individuals during negotiations.” Tony resist the urge to close his eyes. Yep. That’s the way this is going to go.

She cuts a look at him and he shrugs carelessly. Whatever gets them home.

“Because I’m not an enhanced individual,” she says, and suddenly that shield, that fucking shield, is melting in her hands, dripping into the snow at her feet. He’s never loved anyone more in his entire life.

The King of Wakanda looks at them both and nods. “I will ensure their bodies receive a proper burial.” And that Rogers and Barnes get away clean, he thinks exhaustedly.

Pepper reaches out a hand and T’Challa takes it effortlessly, fearlessly. In another life, he thinks, watching them shake hands, I could have liked this man. But for now—

“It was an honor to meet you, your Majesty. Allow me to express my deepest sympathy on behalf of Stark Industries.”

—he’s just…tired.

**Author's Note:**

> Listen. I don't know enough about international politics to tell you how a bill like the Sokovia Accords would pass through the UN. (It probably wouldn't pass, actually). Pepper's mini rant is gratuitous and optimistic and there because I wanted it there, not because I think its true. It's 2019, lets not fight about civil war anymore. 
> 
> I originally came up with this idea right after I saw Civil War, because where the fuck are my ladies? The first scene I had in mind didn't make it to the final cut, actually; I imagined Pepper melting Barnes' arm off instead of Tony blasting it off.
> 
> Then I figured her busting up cap's weapon is better symbology because a) Tony's father made it and FUCK Howard stark, b) cap's the one who's in the wrong at the beginning of this fight, not Bucky. And I hated that crack Tony made about it being his father's shield. 
> 
> Also: Steve looking surprised and then sad at Tony saying his repulsors still work is him realizing Tony wasn't going to kill him or Bucky, because Tony absolutely had the chance to blast Steve's head off with his repulsors at the end, right before Steve brings his shield down on Tony's chest, but he didn't. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
